Casserole related question......

1. I am making a beef casserole later and would like to add chipolatas in, when would I put them in? Beginning to brown or later so they're soft? I just don't know.

2. Next time I do a casserole I would like to put some wine in it, can I do this if I am keeping some to freeze for my DD (1 yr old), was wondering if it cooks for two and a half hours whether the alcohol would cook out.

Sorry for the dull questions but you lot are great at stuff like this. Any other suggestions on what to do with a casserole welcomed too as I have just learnt how to cook things!

I have also posted this in chat but they reccomended you guys would be helpful.

I would brown the chipolatas as I would brown the beef before adding them to the casserole.

I would and did feed casseroles with wine in to my DC when they were weaned and managing lumps, so maybe about 10m or so.

Other casseroles I did which they loved were Irish stew with lamb, carrots, leeks, onions and potatoes, layered then water added til just above said said layers and a couple of tablespoons of pearl barley thrown in. (flour the lamb first).

Beef shin, cubed, floured and browned, add some softened onions, celery, carrots, half bottle red wine, tin of tomatoes and a beef stock cube. Bring to a simmer and then cover with double layer of foil and the lid and in the oven at 160 for 3 hours or so.

Pork with cider, mushrooms, onions and a bit of cream added for the last 20 minutes or so. Lovely with rice. (I tended to use tenderloin for this)

Chicken with onions, peppers, chorizo,sherry, lemons and oranges with rice cooked in the dish.

Thank you for your reply, am very new to cooking (at 32!) and enjoying giving DD and DH proper food!

All of those recipies sound great, especially the top three, would be grateful if you could pass on more detailed recipies thank you. Have tried the pork with cider (but not cream) before but felt the cider taste didn't come out, any suggestions on that would be appreciated as well.

Right, with the lamb one, the meat needs to be floured so as the stew cooks, the sauce will thicken with both the flour and pearl barley, giving a lovely thick gravy/broth type sauce. You don't brown the lamb first with this one.

Use best end/neck of lamb for optimum flavour. Cut into 2cm cubes and toss in seasoned flour. Put a single layer on the bottom of a casserole dish, followed by a layer of sliced onions, another of sliced carrots, a layer of slices leeks and finally a layer of peeled and sliced potatoes. Repeat once or twice depending on how many you're making for. (This does freeze very well, and imo tastes even better iyswim). Pour cold water over until just covering the ingredients and then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of pearl barley over (1tbls/2 people). Bring to the boil, remove any scum from the top with a slotted spoon and then pop in a low-ish oven for a couple of hours or thereabouts. Check for seasoning at this stage.

For the pork:

I brown the pork first and then set aside. Then fry some chopped onion and a clove of garlic until softened. Add the sliced mushrooms for a further 5 minutes or so. I then pour on a good cider (cloudy one) and bring to a bubble, add the meat back in and then I let it simmer gently until the liquid has reduced down a bit. I also tend to add ½-1tsp of Marigold Bouillon powder as well, as my seasoning. If I want the liquid to be thicker, I remove all the bits (when cooked) with a slotted spoon and keep warm, bring the sauce to a rolling boil and add a rounded tsp of cornflour in (first mixed with a little cold water) and it will thicken very quickly.

Another thing I sometimes throw in when I remember are some peeled, cored and sliced apples that I caramelise in a little butter and add at the end. They add a lovely extra dimension.